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Research shows Headspace works

Published studies, external scientists, prestigious research organizations and our science team have shown Headspace can improve mental, emotional, and social health.

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Headspace decreases stress. An internal study that was published in the top mindfulness journal found that only 10 days of Headspace reduced stress by 14%.

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Headspace can make people kinder to others. Separate studies conducted by Northeastern University found that 3 weeks of Headspace increased compassion by 23% and reduced aggression by 57%. In addition, an internal study found 10 days of Headspace reduced irritability by 27%. And Kinder to themselves. A study with health professionals found that only 10 days of Headspace improved self-compassion.

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Headspace improves focus. We spend almost half of our waking hours lost in thought and distracted. Research published in a journal focused on cognitive enhancement showed that Headspace improved focus by 14% and significantly decreased mind-wandering.

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Headspace can make people happier overall. We put the “app” in happy. A study with students found that just 10 days of Headspace increased positivity and well-being.

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And Happier at work. Studies conducted with different populations of employees have found Headspace can reduce stress and job strain and improve job satisfaction.

  • Published Research Examining the Impact of Headspace

    Bennike, I., Wieghorst, A., & Kirk, U. (2017). Online-based mindfulness training reduces behavioral markers of mind wandering. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 1(2), 172-181. doi: 10.1007/s41465-017-0020-9

    Björkstrand, J., Schiller, D., Li, J., et al. (2019) The effect of mindfulness-training on extinction retention. Scientific Reports, 9, 19896. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56167-7

    Bostock, S., Crosswell, A.D., Prather, A.A., & Steptoe, A. (2019). Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(1), 127-138. doi:10.1037/ocp0000118

    Champion, L., Economides, M., Chandler, C. (2018) The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: A pilot randomised controlled trial. PLoS One, 13(12): e0209482. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209482

    College of Policing. (2019). Mindfulness in policing: A randomised controlled trial of two online mindfulness resources across five forces in England and Wales. Coventry, ENG: Retrieved from https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Mindfulness_RCT_report.pdf

    Desteno, D., Lim, D., Duong, F., & Condon, P. (2018). Meditation inhibits aggressive responses to provocations. Mindfulness, 9(4), 1117-1122. doi: 10.1007/s12671-017-0847-2

    Economides, M., Martman, J., Bell, M.J., & Sanderson, B. (2018). Improvements in stress, affect, and irritability following brief use of a mindfulness-based smartphone app: a randomized controlled trial. Mindfulness, 9(5), 1584-1593. doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0905-4

    Flett, J.A.M., Fletcher, B.D., Riordan, B.C., Patterson, T., Hayne, H., & Conner, T.S. (2019). The peril of self-reported adherence in digital interventions: A brief example. Internet Interventions, 18, 100267. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2019.100267

    Flett, J.A.M., Hayne, H., Riordan, B.C. et al. (2019). Mobile mindfulness meditation: A randomized controlled trial of the effect of two popular apps on mental health. Mindfulness, 10(5), 863-876. doi: 10.1007/s12671-018-1050-9

    Howells, A., Ivtzan, I., & Eiroa-Orosa, F.J. (2016). Putting the 'app' in happiness: a randomised controlled trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention to enhance wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(1), 163-185. doi: 10.1007/s10902-014-9589-1

    Kirk, U., Wieghorst, A., Nielsen, C.M. et al. (2019). On-the-spot binaural beats and mindfulness reduces behavioral markers of mindwandering. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 3(2), 186-192. doi: 10.1007/s41465-018-0114-z

    Kubo, A., Altschuler, A., Kurtovich, E., Hendlish, S., Laurent, C. A., Kolevska, T., . . . Avins, A. (2018). A pilot mobile-based mindfulness intervention for cancer patients and their informal caregivers. Mindfulness, 9(6), 1885-1894. doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0931-2

    Kubo, A., Kurtovich, E., McGinnis, M., Aghaee, S., Altschuler, A., Quesenberry, C., Jr, … Avins, A. L. (2019). A randomized controlled trial of mHealth mindfulness intervention for cancer patients and informal cancer caregivers: A feasibility study within an integrated health care delivery system. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 18, 1534735419850634. doi:10.1177/1534735419850634

    Laurie, J. & Blandford, A. (2016). Making time for mindfulness. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 96, 38-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.02.010

    Lim D., Condon P., & DeSteno D. (2015). Mindfulness and compassion: An examination of mechanism and scalability. PLoS ONE 10(2): e0118221. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118221

    Mani M., Kavanagh D.J., Hides L., Stoyanov S.R. (2015). Review and evaluation of mindfulness-based iPhone apps. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 3(3):e82. doi:10.2196/mhealth.4328

    Mistler, L.A., Ben-Zeev, D., Carpenter-Song, E., Brunette, M.F., & Friedman, M.J. (2017). Mobile mindfulness intervention on an acute psychiatric unit: feasibility and acceptability study. JMIR Mental Health, 4(3), e34. doi:10.2196/mental.7717

    Noone, C., & Hogan, M.J. (2018). A randomised active-controlled trial to examine the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on executive control, critical thinking and key thinking dispositions in a university student sample. BMC Psychology, 6(1), 13. doi:10.1186/s40359-018-0226-3

    Nübold, A., Van Quaquebeke, N. & Hülsheger, U.R. (2019). Be(coming) real: a multi-source and an intervention study on mindfulness and authentic leadership. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-20. doi:10.1007/s10869-019-09633-y

    Quinones, C. & Griffiths M.D. (2019). Reducing compulsive internet use and anxiety symptoms via two brief interventions: a comparison between mindfulness and gradual muscle relaxation. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(3):530-536. doi: 10.1556/2006.8.2019.45

    Rosen, K.D., Paniagua, S.M., Kazanis, W., Jones, S., & Potter, J.S. (2018). Quality of life among women diagnosed with breast cancer: a randomized waitlist controlled trial of commercially available mobile app-delivered mindfulness training. Psychooncology, 27(8), 2023-2030. doi:10.1002/pon.4764

    Taylor, M. Hageman J.R., & Brown, M. (2016). A mindfulness intervention for residents: Relevance for pediatricians. Pediatric Annals, 45(10), e373-e376. doi: 10.3928/19382359-20160912-01

    Wen, L., Sweeney, T. E., Welton, L., Trockel, M., & Katznelson, L. (2017). Encouraging mindfulness in medical house staff via smartphone app: a pilot study. Academic Psychiatry, 41(5), 646-650. doi:10.1007/s40596-017-0768-3

    Wylde, C.M., Mahrer, N.E., Meyer, R.M.L., & Gold, J.I. (2017). Mindfulness for novice pediatric nurses: smartphone application versus traditional intervention. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 36, 205-212. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2017.06.008

    Yang E., Schamber E., Meyer R.M.L., Gold J.I. (2018). Happier healers: randomized controlled trial of mobile mindfulness for stress management. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 24(5), 505-513. doi:10.1089/acm.2015.0301

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